Principal's Pen
Dear Parent and Caregivers
As we move into the middle of the first term, our support groups for the school are beginning to meet. If you are new to the school community, I would encourage you to find an area that you can become involved; whether that be through groups such as the P and C Association, School Council, helping in tuckshop, swimming or maybe through becoming part of our Local Chaplaincy Committee. Maybe it is attending school and P and C events such as the upcoming Trivia night planned for next month?
Our first P and C Meeting will be held next week on February 23rd and the School Council will also meet for the first time this year on Monday 8th March. Prep-1 swimming commences next week and Chappy Sarah is in the process of setting up our first LCC meeting for the year.
Encouraging parent engagement is more than common courtesy. It’s one of the best ways to create a positive learning environment for every student. To create a community built on parent-teacher relationships in our school, we need to all work to nurture parent engagement.
This is because it is the most accurate predictor of academic achievement. It’s not socioeconomic status, nor how prestigious the school is that a child attends. The best predictor of student success is the extent to which families encourage learning at home and involve themselves in their child’s education. When parents are engaged in their children’s school lives, students have the home support and knowledge they need to do their homework and also develop a lifelong love of learning.
So whilst we are all busy I encourage you to find ways that you can be involved in your child’s education and the life of the school.
WELLBEING
Another one of our big pieces of work this year is to develop our school’s Student Learning and Wellbeing Framework (SLAWF). As part of that we will be investigating different frameworks that may be used as a resource to support our work and documenting all of the supports and processes we already have in place to support the mental health and wellbeing of our students. Following that, we will also be working on a Staff Wellbeing Framework. Whilst we progress on this journey, I will continue to use my spot at assemblies and the newsletters to bring a focus on a skill for that fortnight.
This week on assembly I spoke to the students about the importance of respectful relationships with all that they work with at school, home and in the community and the importance of understanding that almost everything you achieve in life will come from working well with others. When this happens chemicals are released that make you feel good which makes you feel connected, protected and respected. When we are in this place that is when great learning and achievements can happen.
PARENT TEACHER MEETINGS
Thank you to those parents who were able to respond to the survey around the whole-school parent information sessions posted in the last newsletter. We certainly take on board the feedback received for planning the parent information sessions next year.
On our calendar we have scheduled Parent Teacher Meetings in Week 8 of this term. We are going to try a whole-school muster event for this, also as most schools already do. We will hold the evening in EPAC on Tuesday, 16th March from 3:15-6:45pm. All teachers will be available on this evening for 10 minute interviews to be booked through our SOBS Booking program. More details will come home about this before then but please date claim this evening.
NAPLAN 2021
Another reminder about NAPLAN 2021. As you may have heard in the media, NAPLAN will continue for students in Yr 3 and 5 in Qld schools in 2021. As our school was preparing to go online with NAPLAN testing last year before it was cancelled we will continue that preparation this year. We will conduct the practice tests for the students to practice the format and to check connectivity etc between March 22 and April 30 and the actual online tests will be conducted between 11-21 May, 2021. If your child is in Yr 3 or 5 and you have any concerns about your child sitting the NAPLAN tests this year, please contact myself or our Head of Curriculum- Mrs Amy O’Malley.
Till next time,